FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
September 16, 1997
No. TR-16
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on U.S. Customs Service passenger and merchandise processing issues. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, September 30, 1997, in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Passenger Processing User Fees: The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) (P.L. 99-272) established a schedule of seven passenger-related and conveyance user fees. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-514) added to this schedule fees for processing barges and bulk carriers from Canada and Mexico. Under COBRA, user-fee revenues paid for all customs inspection overtime and all pre-clearance costs for which reimbursement was not required and excess pre-clearance costs. The Customs and Trade Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-382) amended COBRA: (a) to allow Customs to use any surplus revenues, after overtime and pre-clearance were funded, to hire inspectors, purchase equipment, and fund items related to inspection, (b) to distribute revenues in proportion to the amount contributed by each user-fee category, and (c) to require that surplus-funded customs inspectional positions must facilitate passenger and conveyance processing and must be used to enhance inspection services already provided.
The North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (NAFTA) (P.L. 103-182) made additional amendments to the customs user-fee structure. First, the NAFTA increased the air- and sea-passenger processing user fee from $5 to $6.50 for fiscal years 1994 through 1997; beginning with fiscal year 1998, the air- and sea-passenger processing user fees revert to $5. Second, the NAFTA eliminated the prior air- and sea-passenger processing user-fee exemption for passengers traveling to the United States from Canada, Mexico, and U.S. territories and insular possessions; beginning with fiscal year 1998, the country exemptions are reinstated.
Compensation System for Customs Officers: COBRA fees fund overtime and premium pay for customs officers. The original overtime pay system for customs inspectors was created by the Act of February 13, 1911, known as the "1911 Act." Section 13811 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA of 1993) (P.L. 103-66), known as the Customs Officer Pay Reform amendments, amended the 1911 Act in an attempt to eliminate abuses and mismanagement of the prior system. The reforms were intended to limit overtime and premium pay for customs inspectors and canine officers for hours of work actually performed. In order to make inspectors whole, the law also allowed overtime compensation to be counted as part of the basic pay for the Civil Service Retirement System up to 50 percent at the $25,000 statutory overtime cap or $12,500.
Due to an arbitration decision, Customs is required to pay overtime plus interest for hours not actually worked to officers denied overtime assignments because they have reached the level set by port directors. Due to another arbitration decision, Customs is required to pay overtime for hours not actually worked to officers whose overtime is inappropriately assigned to part time employees.
On July 25, 1997, Chairman Crane introduced H.R. 2262, a bill which addresses a number of reforms to the overtime and premium pay compensation system for customs officers. Section 1 of the bill would amend the 1911 Act to eliminate premium pay from the calculation of the $25,000 fiscal year cap. The provision would also allow a Customs officer to work one assignment that would result in the overtime pay of that officer exceeding the $25,000 fiscal year cap. Section 2 would prohibit Customs from paying overtime to an employee if that employee has not actually performed work during the time corresponding to such overtime pay. Section 3 would apply the same rule to premium pay. Section 3 would also implement the recommendations of the Treasury IG to revise premium pay for night work by customs officers.
Redesign of Merchandise Processing Systems: The Customs Modernization Act (Modernization Act) was enacted as part of the NAFTA implementing legislation in December 1993. Through passage of this Act, the Congress provided the Customs Service with the necessary tools to successfully redesign its merchandise processing systems for the 21st Century. Specifically, the Act required Customs to develop a fully-automated commercial environment to overhaul the current Automated Commercial System (ACS).
A major feature of Customs' efforts to implement the Modernization Act has been the recent redesign of the process of inspecting and controlling outbound cargo. While it inspects less than one percent of all U.S. exports, Customs has recently sought to increase its effectiveness in interdicting illegal shipments of outbound currency, munitions, dual-use goods, chemical and hazardous materials, and stolen vehicles. The cornerstone of Customs' effort to redesign the outbound cargo process has been development of an Automated Export System (AES).
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on: the expiration of certain Customs COBRA user fees, reforms to the Customs officer overtime and premium pay system, and Customs' redesign of merchandise processing systems, particularly the ACS and the AES. The hearing will not address the customs-related merchandise processing fees.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Bradley Schreiber at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Tuesday, September 23, 1997. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies of their prepared statement and an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format, for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Friday, September 26, 1997. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, October 14, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.